Stores tricks 3

Stores use plenty of tricks to get you to spend more money. Here are some of the most common. Part 3

By Jessica Tyler From Business Insider

Stores of all kinds use tricks to encourage shoppers to spend more money.
Some of these tricks include using calming music and placing pricey items at eye level.
You can become a better shopper by knowing these tricks and avoiding spending more than you plan to.
Supermarkets, restaurants, department stores and boutiques all use similar techniques to get customers to spend more.

Stores are all very carefully designed. Every aspect, from the music playing to where items are placed, is specifically chosen to prompt customers to spend more money.

To become a more savvy shopper and save some money next time you head to the mall, pay attention to these tricks that stores use to get you to spend more money:

Store employees suggest products.Thomson Reuters
If employees see you with a product, they’ll sometimes suggest a complementary product to go with it. And to be nice, many people will take the suggestions and end up buying more than they wanted to.

Some stores have overly friendly employees.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Some employees are told to treat customers like family, because then customers feel guilty about walking away from the store without buying something.

Some high-end stores, on the other hand, purposefully have rude employees.AP
At luxury stores, snobbish salespeople tend to make customers feel like they aren’t part of the exclusive group of people who shop there, making people more inclined to buy something so they can fit in.

Source: UBC News

They’ll play up the nostalgia factor.
Ed Bailer / AP
When people feel nostalgic, they value money less and are willing to spend more.

Source: Time

They use targeted ads.
Facebook
Ads on social media are targeted specifically towards you based on past purchases, drawing you back in and trying to prompt you to buy more similar products.

Stores offer bonuses for signing up for their credit cards.
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
When you have a company credit card, not only do you feel more loyal to that store and inclined to go back, but you’re also encouraged to spend more money to get more rewards.

Stores send out coupons.
AP Photo/Joe Giblin
Coupons encourage people to spend more money than they may have planned to initially, because they’re under the illusion that they’re getting a deal.